Members januaryscar Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 I have an older SWR bass 350. Bought it second hand a few years back. Great amp. Thought about switching to an Ampeg SVT3 pro, but when i went to the shop to try an ampeg out, i found the SWR sounded better IMO. Paired with the right cab/s, this head sounds incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chris dax Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Hey Johnny - my experience with a B350... when I was shopping, I called a friend of mine who's been a pro for 40 years...he said they are good amps but have quality problems... well I found a really good deal on one so I went ahead and bought it. I've gigged it for like 2-3 years (bought on closeout when they were introducing the 350x)... what I found....good (maybe great) amp but has quality problems... as follows... a few months ago I was getting some wierd sound....finally traced it to oscillations caused by the fact that the screws mounting heat sink to the chassis had come loose....all 6 or 8 of them....loose enough to turn with your finger it also totally fried the power amp section about 6 months after I bought it the main power switch began arcing a few months ago...when I tried to buy one locally in Denver from 3 of their "factory repair centers" I couldn't even find anyone who could get it for me....no lie. Then I emailed the factory service, told them I had no luck locally and to ship me one collect or whatever and I'd be glad to pay them for it...(really thought they'd just pop one in a bag and send it out). I get an email from the factory service guy saying "contact our local service center or here's a part number, call this number and order it yourself...). So apparently the quality issues are systemic. I would never consider buying another SWR product even though the amp itself is actually a pretty nice little unit. I just don't have time for "who gives a {censored}" attitude when you've got people like Dave at Avatar proving every day that superior service is the norm at some shops. Really, if you ask me, I'd seriously try to talk you out of buying any SWR product. Just my .02 cents....but as you can see, that's a pretty lame record for a 2-3 year ownership...topped off by equally lame factory service response....c-d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members januaryscar Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 For peice of mind, seeming I got mine second hand, I get it 'serviced' once a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members der oxenrig Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Originally posted by sludgebass69 right..... Sorry, but everytime I see someone plugged into an SWR amp at guitar center, they're holding some dual pickup bass with the mids scooped, tweeter up all the way, slapping not stop. It gets old real fast... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ARES Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 if i judged equipment based on who played them at guitar center i'd hate everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members timmerz Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Originally posted by bbl I'm jonesin' for a Megoliath. Then when I get one, I'll jones for another one, a la JoJo Garza from a show I attended last Sunday night: Ummmmm.....much as I'd like to agree with you, because I use and abuse a Megoliath on a regular basis, and will never think about any other speaker system (unless 2 El Whappo's come my way, in some miracle of finances) I'm pretty sure he runs 4 Goliath III's stacked.....the sound is awesome, as you've specified....When you saw JoJo, did you get a good look at his stacks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunburstbasser Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Those look like two 8x10s on their sides in the photo. There is a tweeter where the split in 4x10s would be it looks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members timmerz Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Veeeery interesting....I'm going to have to look into this, it certainly looks like you're right...I didn't even look at the pic closely, since both times I've seen them he was using Goliaths....My apologies to bbl..... If they ARE Megoliaths, my respect for the boy just increased by 15%, at least.....and he was 'way up there to start with.... {edit}Sheeeeiiit! Sure enough, I was in error....just looked closely at bbl's pic, and there's the Megoliath tweeter, sure as {censored}, right at JoJo's right elbow.....bbl, just keep looking on ebay, buddy...I got mine for $514 and just had to drive about 600 miles round-trip to pick it up....worth every stinkin' penny and gallon of gas I spent, and more....can not hurt this beast, and it sounds equally good at Festival levels or medium sized club levels.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Subsonicbass Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Originally posted by januaryscar I have an older SWR bass 350. Paired with the right cab/s, this head sounds incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tlaloc Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Originally posted by The Ox Sorry, but everytime I see someone plugged into an SWR amp at guitar center, they're holding some dual pickup bass with the mids scooped, tweeter up all the way, slapping not stop. It gets old real fast... agreed. SWRs are good for slap wankage and nu-metal. Not much more really. It's just too damn sterile to me. Almost like it's TOO clean in a way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members januaryscar Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Originally posted by Tlaloc agreed.SWRs are good for slap wankage and nu-metal. Not much more really. It's just too damn sterile to me. Almost like it's TOO clean in a way. They are very clean amps. Thats why i added a sansamp BDDI to mine. Now it sounds nice and gritty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunburstbasser Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Originally posted by Tlaloc agreed.SWRs are good for slap wankage and nu-metal. Not much more really. It's just too damn sterile to me. Almost like it's TOO clean in a way. Sterile or not, there are a ton of guys out there using them for everything from jazz to funk to rock. The guy that had the SWR stack at the concert was playing mainstream Christian rock and it sounded fine. See for yourself. http://www.swrsound.com/artists/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sludgebass69 Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Originally posted by The Ox Sorry, but everytime I see someone plugged into an SWR amp at guitar center, they're holding some dual pickup bass with the mids scooped, tweeter up all the way, slapping not stop. It gets old real fast... Oh yeah, they'll do that real good, but only if you make 'em. I run my fairly flat with a little low-mid boost, and use a MXR M-80 to add grit when I need it. It's no tube amp.........but it only weighs 20 some lbs. too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T. Alan Smith Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Originally posted by sludgebass69 Oh yeah, they'll do that real good, but only if you make 'em. I run my fairly flat with a little low-mid boost, and use a MXR M-80 to add grit when I need it. It's no tube amp.........but it only weighs 20 some lbs. too. Yeah, to my ears, the flatter I run my 350, the better it sounds. Lately, I've been running mine with the EQ completely flat and the aural enhancer boosted about 20%. I'm buying an SVT for when I want a tube sound. Keep it real. I've got a Fulltone BassDriver for grit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T. Alan Smith Posted August 11, 2005 Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Originally posted by Tlaloc agreed. SWRs are good for slap wankage and nu-metal. Not much more really. It's just too damn sterile to me. Almost like it's TOO clean in a way. You meant to write, "SWRs aren't good for much more than slap wankage and nu-metal to me. Personally, I like how my Professional Series rig captures the nuances in my playing and forces me to clean it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jonny Five Posted August 11, 2005 Author Members Share Posted August 11, 2005 Originally posted by chris dax That's prolly enough to dissuade me... Anything with reliability issues is not a friend (i'm looking for something that will not putz out on me, a la my current carvin ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chris dax Posted August 13, 2005 Members Share Posted August 13, 2005 Originally posted by Jonny Five That's prolly enough to dissuade me... Anything with reliability issues is not a friend (i'm looking for something that will not putz out on me, a la my current carvin ) it is very not cool when you're gigging steady....my fall back is that if it totally craps out on a gig I can go direct to the pa and make it through the gig cause we mostly play smaller bars. However it has caused me much anxiety this summer as we have 3 festival gigs.... aaarrgh... After this last piss off with the power switch I'm definitely looking for a new amp....hopefully that turns over before this thing blows up for good.....c-d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.